NASA shared striking views of nearly all of Earth’s water in recent maps of the planet’s global sea levels.
Data from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite was used to create an animation that shows the various surface heights of the planet’s oceans and freshwater lakes and rivers. The info was collected during SWOT’s first full 21-day science orbit, which began on July 26 and ended on Aug. 16, in line with an announcement from NASA.
Already, scientists are thrilled with the information the satellite is providing. “The detail that SWOT is sending back on sea levels around the globe is incredible,” Parag Vaze, SWOT project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said within the statement.
Related: NASA’s recent SWOT satellite to review Earth’s water from space in a ‘game changer’ for understanding climate change
SWOT launched to space on Dec. 16, 2022 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Earth-observing satellite is a joint mission between NASA and the French Space Agency (CNES).
Over the course of its mission, the spacecraft — which orbits Earth at an altitude of around 533 miles (857 kilometers) — will measure the peak of water over 90% of Earth’s surface every 21 days, documenting changes in global water levels.
“The info will advance research into the consequences of climate change and help communities around the globe higher prepare for a warming world,” Vaze said within the statement.
The brand new animation was created using data from the satellite’s Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument. KaRIn consists of two antennas separated across a 33-foot-long (10 meters) boom and is used to gather surface-height measurements by bouncing radar pulses off the water’s surface, in line with the statement.
Various sea surface heights across the globe are documented in the brand new animation, including areas where water levels are higher than the worldwide mean sea surface height (represented in red and orange), in addition to lower than average areas (represented in blue). The info collected by SWOT offers some of the detailed, comprehensive views of the water on Earth’s surface, NASA officials said within the statement.
“Sea level differences can highlight ocean currents, just like the Gulf Stream coming off the U.S. East Coast or the Kuroshio current off the east coast of Japan,” NASA officials said within the statement. “Sea surface height may also indicate regions of relatively warmer water — just like the eastern a part of the equatorial Pacific Ocean during an El Niño — because water expands because it warms.”